


The Life and Times of Vedalia Jean-Something

by SairenHaria



Series: Queen of Secrets [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gen, Sentibug is here to person, She's a weird combo of Ladybug and Nathalie and Nathalie's view of Ladybug, Technically not an OC?, also the butler is there because they all need an adult, and help three abused kids learn to person, low intelligence high wisdom Sentibug is a go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:20:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21717556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SairenHaria/pseuds/SairenHaria
Summary: Through a series of events, Sentibug was not unmade. Which is good that she's not dead, but a little difficult to deal with a forever transformed Ladybug with a skewed amount of world knowledge and could potentially be sensed by Mayura.So clearly she has to be Chloe's roommate for safety's sake.Now known as Vedalia Jean-Something, snapshots of a girl learning how to person when one isn't quite human.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Chloe Bourgeois & Kagami Tsurugi & Sentimonster Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Chloé Bourgeois, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Kagami Tsurugi, Chloé Bourgeois & Kagami Tsurugi
Series: Queen of Secrets [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1565281
Comments: 11
Kudos: 133





	1. Getting a Last Name

**Author's Note:**

> Part of the Queen of Secrets universe, which would certainly help explain a lot of things that are going on.
> 
> But in short:  
> Chloe found out Ladybug and Chat Noir's identities and decided to be proactive on earning her Miraculous.  
> This resulted in Rena Rouge and Viperion becoming permanent heroes by the time Ladybug rolled around.  
> Extra interference led to Sentibug being separated from Mayura before the end of the fight.  
> Sentibug thus doesn't confront Mayura and thus isn't destroyed.  
> To avoid risking anyone else's identities, Sentibug was sent to live with Chloe.  
> This is mostly to be snapshots of things Vedalia does that would otherwise bog down Queen of Secrets, and help flesh out her character.  
> Her name is Vedalia, which is an Australian Ladybug.

Vedalia met the eyes of the other shocked man. He was formally dressed, in a suit, with a neat mustache. Oh. No, was he a servant? This was a fancy hotel and employees would be dressed like that, right?

"Mademoiselle, I know Ladybug has been known to visit, but you are usually in danger," the man said, looking around. His voice was calm, but Vedalia could tell. He was worried, looking around subtlety for danger.

"I'm not in danger, Jean Claude," Chloe said, moving over to Vedalia, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "And this isn't the real Ladybug."

"Oh," he said and relaxed slightly. Still maintaining a formal stance, but no longer worried about an attack. Then he perks up, almost hopeful, even if it was hidden under the cool professionalism. "Then this is a new friend? A fellow cosplayer I should inform the staff about?"

"Not exactly," Chloe said. "This is a copy of Ladybug that's been made by magic. She's a real person! With thoughts and feelings, but she can't really detransform and of course she can't go home like that, so she's staying with us. Her name is Vedalia."

"It's nice to meet you, Jean Claude," Vedalia said.

"It's...never mind," Jean said with a soft sigh. Then he focused on her and then Chloe. "Should I let the staff know Ladybug is staying with us or should I insist on discretion."

"Neither, I don't want Vedalia acknowledge as Ladybug at all," Chloe said.

Vedalia still hated that thought. She was Ladybug. She was Chat Noir's partner. But she understood the need for it. It was to keep herself safe. It was to keep Chloe safe while staying with her. Saying she was Ladybug would cause a lot of difficulties and problems. At least her name was still technically Ladybug.

"Then...." Jean asked.

"I was hoping you'd....pretend she was your niece," Chloe said. "We're going to disguise her, cover up the suit, say she has sensitive eyes so she can get super big sunglasses she can keep on all the time. Things like that."

"You were...hoping I would," he said with a mildly curious tone. And then he smiled. It wasn't the first, Vedalia had seen him with a smile nearly this whole time. But this one was realer than than others. He looked happy at what Chloe said. "You're asking if I would help with this charade."

"....I mean, you are helping hide a superheroine and like....that's dangerous," Chloe muttered. "So I understand if you don't wan-"

"I'll do it," he said.

Chloe snapped her mouth shut, looking up in surprise. And then in a gratitude that Vedalia hadn't seen in Chloe before. "You will?"

Jean nodded. "My niece Vedalia. Her parents have to do a lot of traveling for work, so she's staying with me for stability. My room has a spare bedroom, I can clear it out for her." Oh. Vedalia knew The Grand Paris Majordome lived on the floor with the smallest penthouses, right above normal hotel rooms. It allowed them to have their butler constantly on call. Huh, that seemed like an odd thing for her to know. "Will that suffice?"

"That's perfect! It'll be good for her to have her own space. It might be suspicious if she was sleeping in here," Chloe said. "What a good idea, I'm a genius."

"Um," Vedalia started.

"Of course you are, Mademoiselle," he said with amusement. "Shall I show her the room?" He asked.

"Oh, yes, let me just get her a hoody and pajama pantss. I just have to find them, it's been a while since I was last sick," she said, hurrying off to her closet.

"Sick?" Vedalia said in confusion.

"She only wears hoodies when she's ill. She thinks they're too ratty otherwise," he said. "Don't worry, they're clean afterwards."

"...I'm not sure I can get sick," Vedalia said.

He seemed thrown off by that a moment. "Magic is truly a wonder," he said after a moment.

"You're very good at that," Vedalia observed.

"At what, Mademoiselle?" 

"Keeping your expression under control. All your tells are very small," she said, gesturing at her face.

"Ah, that is what is demanded of professionalism. And I am a professional, that's why they keep me on," he said in perhaps the most humble brag Vedalia thinks a person could manage.

"Is that the only reason?" Vedalia asked, raising her brow and nods her head in Chloe's direction.

"Well....I may owe my ability to ask for a raise on a fit Mademoiselle threw at the possibility of my leaving," he said in a low whisper.

Vedalia giggled. "She is pretty spirited."

"That she is," he said with a fond smile, one that almost breaks his calm facade.

"What is your name? Since it's supposed to be mine?"

"Oh, yes, of course. It's Jean-"


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some vague She-Ra spoilers because gosh. Sure do love a cartoon that ACTUALLY ADDRESSES the fact children were getting abused.

Chloe, Adrien, and Kagami were talking in the bedroom. Catching Kagami up on the whole thing where she needed people to watch her. She wasn't entirely sure it was necessary, but Chat Noir asked her to, and the....other Ladybug asked her to and so maybe they were not to something. There were some things she was a bit confused on, so some help would be nice. She just didn't think she needed as much as they seemed to think she did. 

She supposed she could give them adjustment time. They were right. Mayura had no reason to keep her around if she wasn't loyal, they'd need to find a way around that issue before she could effectively help save the day. Anytime she fought, it'd have to be without Mayura and when Ladybug and her couldn't be seen at the same time. Which might be possible. There does seem to be a number of times where Ladybug ends up separated from her partners, she could easily step in then. If the heroes trusted these temporary sidekicks, then they should be safe to know about her if the need arises. 

Though she was curious who this Queen Bee was. She apparently had been around for Heroes Day and when the Mayor was Akumatized, but Alya didn't have any footage. She had been third most after Carapace and Rena Rouge. 

Until she got to a video that said 'The End Of the Queen's Reign?' Well, obviously not. She clicked play, eager to see this hero and instead sees Chloe being pulled onto the bank? What? She was pleading with Ladybug and oh-oh! 

She had a Miraculous! Vedalia reached for the remote to pause because she had QUESTIONS and it was better to ask Chloe directly, but she overbalances in reaching for it, the volume raising rapidly.

_"-o me, Chloe just clearly demonstrated there's nothing exceptional about her-"_

She hits pause as she hits the carpet. There was a silence that reigned in the penthouse, and Vedalia was staring at the screen because those words...didn't they seem so....harsh?

Well, she had one question she did know to ask.

"Chloe, did you really have a MIraculous?" Vedalia asked, looking at her questioningly as she pushed herself back onto the couch.

Chloe had admittedly left after that, leaving her with Kagami and Adrien. And she asked the questions she was more unsure on asking and their answers...

She didn't like their answers. 

Something about it all felt wrong somehow and she needed to figure out what it was. At least she had time. There were clothes to try on and while she had opinions and thoughts about clothes, it wasn't so all consuming she couldn't think more about what she saw.

~~~

Vedalia had watched the full video after Chloe saw Adrien and Kagami off. The cold words from her mother, the begging of Chloe, the reassurance of the heroes. It was all starting to come together in her mind, starting to become clearer.

When Chloe came back, they watched the final. And Vedalia thought. And she watched Chloe, watched how wrapped up in the story she was.

And it all finally clicked. She understood why Chloe would risk those lives in the Subway. At least she thinks she does.

She thinks it may be the same reason why that lever was pulled.

"Okay, we'll watch the last season another time," Chloe said, rubbing at her eyes to get rid of the last of the tears.

Vedalia nodded. "Okay," she said. "Chloe?"

Chloe made a noise of acknowledgement through her yawn.

"If Ladybug trusts you to watch me, why doesn't she give you the Bee Miraculous?"

Chloe froze. She looked at Vedalia. "...." She looked away. "I revealed my identity. It's too dangerous to have it all the time."

"But she would give you it sometimes after everyone knew?" Vedalia asked, tilting her head thoughtfully.

Chloe shrugged. "Part of the danger is my loved ones would be targeted. Either my loved ones were targeted, or the threat was just that big. She needed someone who was competent, and I am very competent," she said, preening.

"Then why did you endanger a subway full of people?"

Chloe looked at her as if she had been hit. Then she looked away. "I...." She opened her mouth. Closed it. "It's not like anyone got HURT."

"But people could have been."

"But they weren't!"

"But what if they had been? Why didn't you think about that?"

"Because I only had so long to prove I was a good hero!" Chloe snapped. "There's an Akuma every other day, and then there's not, there's a run away bus or the zoo animals break out or a fire or SOMETHING and the one time I needed a disaster, it wasn't happening!"

"But that's good?" Vedalia asked, staring at Chloe with laser focus. Chloe wasn't looking at her, pacing, throwing her hands up in the air.

"No! Yes! I mean-it's not like I want disasters to happen, that'd be ridiculous, utterly ridiculous, no one wants that, but I had just dramatically revealed myself and ran off and if I didn't have anything to show for it, if I didn't save anyone then....then..." Chloe trailed off.

"Your mother wouldn't be impressed," Vedalia said quietly. Chloe didn't look up and Vedalia knew it. It was like the lever.

Vedalia's thoughts on parents was vague, but one of the things she did believe was parents loved their children. Parents did all they could for their children. It was bad if parents put their own selfishness before their child. Children would do all they could, to have their parents love and affection.

Calling their child unexceptional on a live broadcast, to her face, when she was pleading for a chance to prove herself....

It doesn't seem right to say it's as simple as Chloe wouldn't impress her mother. It wasn't just that. Vedalia could see it in the broadcast. She could see it now. She could see it in how Chloe, without powers, had stood in front of her, getting in the way of her trying to follow her Amok's orders.

She doesn't know if Chloe had understood how much danger she had been in.

Vedalia wonders if Viperion showing up when he did was coincidence or by Chance because she had been ready to do whatever it took to get the girl out of the way. It's only now she can recognize how incredibly horrifying that situation could have become.

How it might have been.

She wonders if Chat Noir and the other Ladybug knew what kind of girl Chloe Bourgeois was. If Chat Noir understood just how deep that need for her mother's approval ran.

"I'm Chloe Bourgeois. I can't be pathetic. If I say I'm going to be Paris' new superhero, I needed to be a superhero," Chloe said.

"Even if it meant endangering other people?"

"...."

"Chloe, it was wrong."

"I know that!" Chloe snapped. "Okay?! I know that! It was....it was stupid. Utterly stupid. I don't know what I was thinking!"

Vedalia did.

"I didn't think when I revealed my identity, I didn't think about what could have happened if I failed because I refused to fail, or maybe I just didn't care! I mean, you're literally two days old and apparently even you think I'm evil, and I'm only doing good for spite! It's not like people can ever change, but hey, at least I'm spiting the actual villai-" 

Chloe froze as Vedalia suddenly pulled her into a hug.

"I think there's a very good person in you, Chloe," Vedalia said softly. "You just didn't think when you should have. But there's a good heart in there."

Chloe opened her mouth and closed it again. "I...I don't...."

"I'm sorry for upsetting you. But I think I understand you more," Vedalia said, pulling away after a few moments, offering Chloe a gentle smile. Chloe looked shell shocked, almost lost. "And for the record, I think you can be a pretty good hero. You helped save me, after all. You spoke up for me, didn't you?"

Chloe slowly nodded.

"I'm alive thanks to you," she said, wiping away the stray tears that had escaped Chloe's eyes. "I hope I can meet Queen Bee properly one day."

Chloe was turning red at that. Then she stepped back, crossing her arms, looking away. "Jeeze....maybe we have been watching too much She-Ra. You're getting all sappy. Taking lessons from Bow now?"

Vedalia giggled. "Maybe. He is pretty awesome."

"Yeah, awesome how he doesn't protect his internal organs."

"Sometimes you have to sacrifice function for style! Like heels."

"You can practice in heels! You can't practice taking laser fire to the gut!"

Vedalia laughed again, and continued bickering with Chloe about the functionality of the various princesses' plus boys choice in battle clothes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vedalia is a very interesting mix of naive, but also far more perceptive than anyone is fully ready for. Nathalie also seems to really want Gabriel to do right by Adrien. Not enough to not go along with his villainy to protect him and grant his wish, but she does seem fully down for Gabriel to just stop and be a good dad already. So she at least has a Decent Idea of what good parenting SHOULD be.
> 
> Of course, she also sees Ladybug as a Professional who would go 'no, don't do the evil thing and do right by your kid???' Because she doesn't have a bias.
> 
> And then I had Vedalia watch She-Ra so she had a clearly idea on those kind of things because She-Ra is REALLY good about that stuff, at least in my opinion, and now she's ready to pick apart these kids issues because she's also Clever Like Ladybug and also a Helper Busybody Type.


End file.
